Turbine engines, and particularly gas or combustion turbine engines, are rotary engines that extract energy from a flow of combusted gases passing through the engine onto a multitude of turbine blades. Gas turbine engines have been used for land and nautical locomotion and power generation, but are most commonly used for aeronautical applications such as for aircraft, including helicopters. In aircraft, gas turbine engines are used for propulsion of the aircraft. In terrestrial applications, turbine engines are often used for power generation.
Gas turbine engines for aircraft are designed to operate at high temperatures to maximize engine efficiency, so cooling of certain engine components, such as the high pressure turbine and the low pressure turbine, may be necessary. Typically, cooling is accomplished by ducting cooler fluid from the high and/or low pressure compressors to the engine components which require cooling. Temperatures in the high pressure turbine are around 1000° C. to 2000° C. and the cooling fluid from the compressor is around 500° C. to 700° C. While the compressor air is a high temperature, it is cooler relative to the turbine air, and may be used to cool the turbine.
Interior cavities of engine components that receive cooling fluid have been provided with turbulators in order to generate turbulence in the cooling fluid and enhance heat transfer.